The Hex

The weirdest recommend I can make - the game manages to be cringeworthy AND good simultaneously. Although the art style is particularly off-putting (especially in the first segment of the game), the dialogue and characters kept me turning the page the discover the next secret. Most gameplay involves rolling through a plethora of simple puzzles and exploration, but it always provides something unique or further development - often rewarding the player with more story, or completing a joke. The amount of effort put into these interactions leaves the game with a lot of "one and done" type moments that leaves everything feeling fresh. . . . Which is strange, because the overarching story is weak (MAJOR spoilers): [spoiler] It's Predictable. You can intuit exactly where it's going, hardly subverting player expectations, or providing depth to explore. The player is often far ahead of where the story is, leaving segments feel narratively tiring. Though there's many examples of this, from Seeing Weasel Kid get replaced to Chandrelle ruining her game, the most obvious offense is the setup for the death of the game dev. He's not unreasonably written - he's a hotshot immature indie dev that struggled to maintain his integrity and mistreated his IPs (without realizing they were alive in some way, of course). His character is ok, just obvious that he's supposed to be murdered after we see how many enemies he's made. Even the voice acting in the last part of the game just kept hammering in this fact that we weren't *supposed* to like him - like, ok. I get it Daniel. I wouldn't "fix" this by subverting expectations for the sake of throwing the viewer off, that'd feel cheap - but I would provide more substance in your plot twists. Daniel has a good story telling structure, he just needs more subtlety so he doesn't burn through all the mystery at once. (ARG aside, a game can be a decent story without external material too!) [/spoiler] In short, well paced game mechanics, puzzle, and exploration with a healthy sense of humor - held back by storytelling and foreshadowing that's as subtle as a brick and some very ugly character designs. This is not a "Middle ground" review, though - game is a solid 8/10. I still highly recommend this game despite it's flaws off of its gameplay alone - you'll see the same charm that made Daniel's style what it is today. Spoiler: [spoiler]If anything, The shortcomings of The Hex add to the experience of playing it - complete with sob stories, weak meta references, and that bit of uncanniness that make it stand out. It's like an ironic reflection of Daniel himself - at his worst, AND best. It doesn't get more unique than that.[/spoiler]